Apparatus for the production of bits of ice



Aug. 18, 1964 H. GRAM 3,144,757

APPARATUS FOR THE PRODUCTION OF BITS OF ICE Filed Feb. 12, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. W ig My w gwqw United States Patent 3,144,757 APPARATUS FUR THE PRODUCTIGN 0F BITS 0F ICE Hans Gram, Vojens, Denmark, assignmto Brodrene Grail? A/S, Vojens, Denmark, a corporation of Denmar Filed Feb. 12, 1962, Ser. No. 172,522 (liaims priority, application Denmark Feb. 13, 1961 2 Claims. (Cl. 62-354) This invention relates to an apparatus for the production of bits of ice, of the type in which water or another liquid is frozen on a refrigerating surface, preferably a cylindrical surface, to form a layer or shell of ice which is then broken up into bits by means of a breaker device moving along the refrigerating surface.

Apparatuses of the said type are known in which the breaker device is in the form of a roller having pegs digging into the shell of ice, thereby breaking up same, and at the same time causing the roller to rotate about its own axis. While these known apparatus are capable of continuous and satisfactory operation when the liquid to be frozen is pure water, it has been found that serious difficulties are encountered if it is attempted to use these machines for the freezing of many other liquids, an important example of such liquids being sea water. The reason for this is that eg sea water does not freeze into a brittle and readily breakable ice but assumes a jellylike, slippery and tough consistency. Consequently, the engagement of the pegs of the roller in the ice will not be firm enough to ensure proper rotation of the roller, and besides the shell of ice will tend to slide or skid along the refrigerating surface instead of being properly broken up.

In another known machine of the type referred to, the breaker device consists of a rapidly rotating milling cutter. In the case of sea water such a cutter will not be capable of crushing the ice into bits but will soon become clogged and have a smearing rather than a cutting effect on the shell of ice.

With both of the known machines referred to, it has been found that if it is attempted to use them for the freezing of sea water, stoppage or complete clogging will very soon occur.

It is an object of the invention to provide an apparatus of the type referred to which is capable of breaking up a shell of ice in a more controlled manner than is possible with the known machines.

It is another object of the invention to provide an apparatus by means of which bits of ice may be produced from sea water and similar liquids in a continuous and satisfactory manner.

With these and other objects in view, which will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description, an apparatus of the type referred to comprises, according to a principal feature of the invention, a refrigerating surface, means for supplying water to said refrigerating surface to be frozen thereon to form a shell of ice of a certain thickness, a roller constructed with radial projections, said roller having its axis disposed parallel to said refrigerating surface at a distance therefrom such that the ends of said projections are spaced from said refrigerating surface at a distance less than the thickness of said shell of ice, means for relatively moving said roller along said refrigerating surface parallel thereto, means for rotating said roller in controlled synchronism with the movement thereof along said refrigerating surface at a speed of rotation substantially corresponding to pure rolling motion, and a scraper or cutter mounted for movement together with said roller along said refrigerating surface at a distance behind said roller,

Patented Aug. 18, 1964 as viewed in the common direction of movement, said scraper or cutter being located in a position to engage said shell of ice.

Reference will now be made to the accompanying draw;

ings in which FIG. 1 shows a vertical section through one form of an apparatus according to the invention, and

FIG. 2 on a larger scale part of the apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1, in plan view with the top cover removed.

In the drawing, 1 is a cylinder which is surrounded by another cylinder 2 to form a jacket through which a refrigerant or cooling fluid may be circulated by means not shown in the drawing. The cylinders 1 and 2 are mounted on a bottom frame constructed with an annular gutter 3 and further comprising transverse members 4 carrying a bearing 5 for a shaft 6. The latter extends vertically through the cylinder 1 and through a top cover 7 thereof, the extending end of the shaft being adapted to be driven by transmission means not shown. At its upper end the shaft 6 has an axial bore 8 through which the material to be frozen can be supplied. From the bore 8 the liquid flows through a passage 9 perpendicular thereto into a distributing compartment 10 formed between two discs 11 and 12. The water flows radially outwards through the distributing compartment and overflows the edge of the lower disc 12 from which the water trickles down along the inner wall of the freezing cylinder ll. Thereby, a shell of ice is formed on the said inner wall of the cylinder 1, and the excess water is received in the gutter 3 from which it is pumped back to the bore 8.

In addition to the discs 11 and 12 the shaft 6 carries an upper arm 13 and a lower arm 14, which at their ends carry bearings 15 and 16 for a roller 17 which is constructed with radial projections 1% as illustrated in FIG. 2. In the embodiment illustrated, these projections are in the form of pegs having a circular cross section at their roots and having their outward ends sharpened so as to form vertically disposed chisel-like edges 19.

To the upper end of the cooling jacket is attached a gear ring 20 having inner teeth meshing with a gear wheel 21 attached to the upper end of the roller 17. The pitch circle 22, FIG. 2, of the gear ring 20 is located on the imaginary extension of the inner wall of the cylinder 1, and the pitch circle 23, FIG. 2, of the gear wheel 21 is located on the diameter of the cutting edges of the pegs 18.

A cutter or scraper 24, FIG. 2, is mounted parallel to the roller 17 and is connected with the shaft 6 by means not illustrated in the drawing.

The roller 17 and the cutter or scraper 24 are surrounded by a screen or shield 25, FIG. 1, and in the zone of the latter the water supply from the distributing compartment 10 is interrupted so that the shell of ice is permitted to dry before it is broken up by the roller in conjunction with the cutter. At the same time the roller and the cutter are protected from becoming unduly we'tted.

The operation of the apparatus is as follows:

The shaft 6 is rotated in the direction indicated by an arrow and thereby imparts to the roller 17 a rotary motion relative to the cylinder 1 about the axis of the latter. Owing to the interengagement of the gear ring 2t} and the gear wheel 21, the roller is at the same time caused to rotate about its own axis, and owing to the sizes of the pitch circles 22, 23 and the length of the pegs, the edges 19 of the latter will perform a pure rolling motion relative to the inner wall of the cylinder 1. Thereby, the edges of the pegs 18 are caused to engage the shell of ice on the inner wall of the cylinder 1, thereby penetrating into the said shell of ice and at the same time pressing it firmly against the cylinder wall without at the same time executing any lateral movement relative to the cylinder. Thereby the shell of ice is firmly held stationary,

so that the scraper or cutter 24 will be capable of breaking up the shell of ice along the lines of fracture initiated by the pegs without any sliding or skidding movement of the shell of ice relative to the cylinder wall.

The said rolling motion of the roller 17 may of course be produced in many other ways than by means of the gear ring and the gear wheel illustrated. The mathematical condition to be fulfilled in order that the roller may perform a pure rolling motion relative to the cylinder wall is that the roller is rotated at an angular speed equal to the angular speed of the relative rotary motion of the roller and the cylinder multiplied by the ratio of the radius of the cylinder to the radius of the roller as measured from the axis of the latter to the ends of the pegs.

The shell of ice broken up by the cooperation of the cutter or scraper and the roller falls down in the form of bits of ice inside the screen or shield 25 and out through the openings between the transfer members 4 gradually as the shaft 6 proceeds in its rotary motion.

The apparatus illustrated is capable of operating continuously with sea water as constituent material of the ice and may be installed on board fishing boats. With this object in view, a cylindrical screen or shield 26 may be mounted inside the cylinder 1 which screen or shield is capable, on the occurrence of rolling or dipping movement of the boat, to keep the downward flow of water in proximity to the inner Wall of the cylinder 1. The said screen or shield is provided at its bottom with a collar 27 conducting the water that has not been frozen down into the gutter 3.

In the apparatus illustrated, "the relative movement of the roller 17 and the cylinder 1 is produced by rotation of the shaft 6 on which the roller 17 is mounted, but the same relative movement may of course also be produced by rotating the cylinder and keeping the axis of the roller stationary, while the roller performs its rotary motion about the said axis. If desired, the roller may also be arranged on the outer side of an internally cooled cylinder and also in this case either of the two systems of motion referred to may be used. Moreover, the invention is not limited to machines with standing cylinders, but also lying cylinders may be used with external or internal cooling depending on the relative position of the roller. Finally, the invention may also be used for the freezing of ice on a plane surface that may be horizontal, inclined or vertical.

It will be understood that the best results are obtained if the roller performs a pure rolling motion relative to the cylinder wall, but small departures from this ideal condition can be tolerated. Thus, if the roller rotates a little too fast, the shell of ice will be loosened from the cylinder wall in front of the roller, as viewed in the direction of movement of the latter relative to the cylinder wall, and by this loosening, the heat transmission between the shell of ice and the cylinder wall will be reduced, but this can be tolerated if the said loosening effect does not become excessive. If, on the other hand, the roller rotates a little too slowly, the shell of ice will be circumferentially compressed to some extent in front of the roller, as viewed in the direction of movement of the latter relative to the cylinder wall, but as long as this compression does not assume excessive dimensions, no harm results.

An important field of use of the improved apparatus is for the production of ice for the storage and preservation of fish on board fishing boats. It will be understood that considerable advantages are obtained by producing the ice on the spot from outboard water gradually as the ice is needed, instead of having to load and carry a cargo of ice or, at the best, a special supply of fresh water for the making of ice.

I claim:

1. An apparatus for the production of bits of ice, comprising a refrigerating surface, means for supplying water to said refrigerating surface to be frozen thereon to form a shell of ice of a certain thickness, a roller constructed with radial projections, said roller having its axis dispose parallel to said refrigerating surface at a distance therefrom such that the outer periphery of said roller, defined by the outer ends of said projections is spaced from said refrigerating surface at a distance less than the thickness of said shell of ice, means for relatively moving said roller along said refrigerating surface parallel thereto and transversely to the roller axis, means for positively rotating said roller at a peripheral speed substantially equal to the speed of said relative movement of the roller along said refrigerating surface, and in a direction to cause movement substantially together of said surface and said periphery of the roller at their points of closest approach, so that said roller has substantially a rolling motion along the said refrigerating surface, and a scraper mounted for movement together with said roller along said refrigerating surface at a distance behind said roller, as viewed in the common direction of movement, said scraper being located in a position to engage said shell of ice.

2. An apparatus as in claim 1, in which said refrigerating surface is constituted by the wall of a refrigerating cylinder, and intermeshing gears fixedly carried by the said roller and the said refrigerating cylinder respectively concentrically to the axes thereof for causing said rotation of the roller as a result of said relative movement of the roller along said refrigerating surface, said gears having pitch circles the diameter and radius of which respectively substantially correspond to the diameter of said cylindrical wall, and to the spacing of the axis of said roller from said cylindrical wall, respectively.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,930,569 Taylor Oct. 17, 1930 2,813,403 Ostrom Nov. 19, 1957 2,860,490 Taylor Nov. 18, 1958 

1. AN APPARATUS FOR THE PRODUCTION OF BITS OF ICE, COMPRISING A REFRIGERATING SURFACE, MEANS FOR SUPPLYING WATER TO SAID REFRIGERATING SURFACE TO BE FROZEN THEREON TO FORM A SHELL OF ICE OF A CERTAIN THICKNESS, A ROLLER CONSTRUCTED WITH RADIAL PROJECTIONS, SAID ROLLER HAVING ITS AXIS DISPOSED PARALLEL TO SAID REFRIGERATING SURFACE AT A DISTANCE THEREFROM SUCH THAT THE OUTER PERIPHERY OF SAID ROLLER, DEFINED BY THE OUTER ENDS OF SAID PROJECTIONS IS SPACED FROM SAID REFRIGERATING SURFACE AT A DISTANCE LESS THAN THE THICKNESS OF SAID SHELL OF ICE, MEANS FOR RELATIVELY MOVING SAID ROLLER ALONG SAID REFRIGERATING SURFACE PARALLEL THERETO AND TRANSVERSELY TO THE ROLLER AXIS, MEANS FOR POSITIVELY ROTAT- 